The Green Star - originally intended as a refuge from Thread, now a refuge from war, as all of Pern battles for the last scraps of ore that can be dragged from the earth. Can the riders of Discovery Weyr build anew? Or does this new world harbor its own dangers?

This game is meant to be a safe and welcoming place for everyone to play, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion, or neurotype. In-game, a lot of awful, scary stuff may happen to our characters. But if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable as a player, please contact a staff member right away. Rannoch’s PMs and Skype (grumpyquarian) are always open.

We don’t have a “no drama” rule, not because we anticipate “drama”, but because Rannoch doesn’t believe in silencing unhappy players or trivializing legitimate complaints. I’m an adult, and if I fuck up, I will endeavor to correct it like an adult. If you have a problem with staff behavior and you’re not comfortable handling it via PM, ask for a Chatzy so there can be public record of the conversation.

Remember that the Cbox is our public face, and also the first place that guests will come with questions. If a conversation in the Cbox is drowning out a guest with questions, or making people uncomfortable, move it elsewhere. Don’t push it to the point where staff have to move you.

The staff reserves the right to intervene to stop any behavior that is detrimental to the game as a whole. We will always assume good faith on the part of our players… but repeated skirting of the rules or abusing of loopholes will lead to a private discussion. These rules are guidelines for appropriate behavior, not a comprehensive legal document.

No godmodding or powerplaying. The only characters that you can control are your own. Minor instances of godmodding - such as having your character grab another character’s hand and pull them somewhere - are passable, but it’s considered good manners to check with the other player first to make sure they’re okay with it. And if it comes to a fight, remember that your teenaged candidate is not the greatest swordsman on Pern.

No metagaming. Character applications are visible to everyone. This doesn’t mean that all information in them is known in-character. This is especially important in this setting; Discovery Weyr is a haven to all kinds, and many characters may arrive fleeing their old lives back on Pern.

Mature content is permitted, within reason. Sex scenes should “fade to black” and move to the explicit board as soon as clothing comes off. Topics that could seriously upset other players OOC - depictions of abuse or sexual violence, self-harm or suicide, graphic gore, etc. - should be discussed with the other player (or players) beforehand, not sprung by surprise in the middle of a thread.

There is no word count on posts. Instead, focus on making sure that there is something in your post that other players can use for interaction. A two-sentence post that advances the plot is more useful than ten paragraphs of sitting silently in a corner.

There are no activity requirements to play here, and your characters will never be taken away from you. (Worst case scenario, we invent an excuse to send them back to Pern for a while.) The exception is ranking characters: if you take a high-ranking or plot-necessary character, and then don’t respond in a timely manner when your character is needed for a plot, that character may be demoted and the rank will go back up in availability. Players will be given two warnings via PMs and at least three weeks IRL time before this happens, and will be informed of plots involving their characters well in advance. Exceptions will be made for extenuating IRL circumstances; this rule is really in place to make sure that the whole plot doesn’t stagnate waiting for one person to post.

RP is supposed to be collaborative and cooperative. This isn’t a rule that will be strictly enforced, merely a gentle suggestion: try to be kind to one another. If someone seems like they’re not sure where their character fits in, reach out. Try to share the spotlight. We’re not saying “you must RP with everyone” - sometimes people’s characters just don’t mesh in interesting ways - but we are coming in with the expectation that you will create and participate in plots with other people… and that participation will be generously rewarded.

There will be IC bigotry in evidence on this site. This is Pern: the society is sexist and homophobic, the Weyrs are traditionally colorist, and while Pern has no concept of race, mental illness is poorly understood. However, this is not set in stone. Characters are not just allowed, but encouraged to “rock the boat” as far as the status quo is concerned.

No one on our Pern has heard of force-catching, and they would probably be baffled by the concept. Queens have Command. A bronze attempting to forcibly catch a gold who doesn’t want to be caught will be ordered to go between, and they will not return. This is not to say that aggressive males will not fight each other during a Flight… and indeed that’s a very real risk. But that’s as far as it goes.

When writing Flight threads, please remember our Flight canon, and please be mature about it. The site as a whole neither wants nor needs to read about blushing greenriders getting ravished at an orgy. If you enjoy writing it, place it in the explicit forum where it belongs, and keep it out of the actual Flight thread itself on the public forum.

It is up to the player of the clutchmother how much (or how little) participation they want to have in writing hatchlings. They can write some, they can write all, or they can hand it off to the staff entirely. Staff will roll for number of eggs and color distribution, and will have final veto power on Impressions.

This site has a lot fewer restrictions on Candidacy than most. Anyone of reasonably good health between the ages of 14 and 28 can become an official dragon Candidate… and those who fall outside that range can still Stands-Impress. Actually, let me reiterate: anyone can Stands-Impress. If you aren’t already Impressed to a dragon, wher, or other sapient creature, if you show up to a Hatching you are theoretically eligible for a baby. Weyrd Science is going to shake some things up.

Please don’t be afraid to be honest and open about what colors you do or do not want to Impress. It’s not going to get you in trouble, promise! At worst case scenario, if you ask for only gold or only a specific chimera, you may have to wait a few clutches for it to happen.

That said, don’t assume that the color that your character Impresses will forever determine their ability (or lack thereof) to participate in leadership. There’s a lot of plot stuff in the works. A lot of plot stuff.

Please familiarize yourself with our site’s canon. The wiki is there for a reason. You don’t have to read the entire thing in one go, and we encourage asking lots of questions! But a character whose history indicates they were born at Discovery Weyr will not be accepted. Unless they are a toddler.

Minor cosmetic traits like hair or eye color will never be restricted. If certain comparatively rare traits (albinism, twins and triplets, children of Holders, prodigies, etc.) show up excessively, they will be listed here as temporarily banned.

If you didn't make something, credit it appropriately! Anything you received elseweyr (dragon, portrait, pet, etc.) just make a little note underneath. We won’t penalize you, and we fully endorse bringing in a dragon you love that you receive at another hatching! We just want to know that it’s yours.

Research is your friend, especially for characters who are very different from you! We always encourage diverse characters. Just remember, when you’re researching genderfluidity or asexuality or the autism spectrum - there’s probably a player on the site who lives the reality that you’re writing about right now. If your portrayal makes someone uncomfortable, or if staff feel it reflects a lack of understanding, we may contact you (privately!) and ask for revisions and more research.

All players begin with five character slots. After that, more character slots may be purchased from the Weyr Store for 50 marks apiece. (Which, frankly, should be easy as pie to earn. We’re not shy about marks here.)